Missoula festival perfect for book lovers

Every once in a while something from your childhood just sticks.

Among the incessant instructions to wipe your nose, put on your slippers, finish your peas, stop annoying your siblings, etc., etc., one piece of direction penetrates the turbulence of the young mind. And lodges in your brain for good.

On one such occasion, my grandmother caught me marking my place by setting a book – open, spine-side up – on a table.

Now, my grandfather ran a used book store in Tacoma, so she spoke with some authority on the subject. And she told me I was in danger of breaking the spine.

“Remember,” she said, “books are our friends.”

Clearly, she made an impression. Or I wouldn’t be inflicting this particular story on you here today. Or warning you that she may very well be watching you, too.

But I think she was right about the fellowship of books. So my hat’s off to the endearingly independent folks of Missoula for sustaining the Montana Festival of the Book, scheduled for its seventh iteration Sept. 28 to 30.

More than 100 regional writers will participate in a program of readings, panels, exhibits, demonstrations, a literary contest, signings, entertainment, receptions and tours.

They’ve amassed a pretty impressive collection of authors: Ivan Doig, William Kittredge, Mary Clearman Blew, James Lee Burke, Annick Smith, David James Duncan, Barry Lopez, Jess Walter, Seth Kantner, David Quammen, David Long, Gary Ferguson, Greg Keeler, Richard Wheeler and many others.

“It’s just in our blood,” says Kim Anderson, director of the Montana Center for the Book. “People love literature in this part of the world.”

The wordfest kicks off that Thursday evening with “Retelling Butte,” a medley of new nonfiction, photography, poetry, music and film.

“It’s going to be a big multimedia night,” Anderson says. “Just a ton of different books have come out about Butte history.”

Novelist Swain Wolfe will introduce his first memoir, “The Boy Who Invented Skiing”; Michael Punke will talk about “Fire and Brimstone: The North Butte Mining Disaster of 1917”; and Ellen Crain and Janet Finn, the editors of “Motherlode,” will give you a look at what Anderson calls “a more academic approach to women’s roles in Butte, which I think has been tragically overlooked.”

The evening wraps up with a preview of the forthcoming PBS documentary, “The Richest Hill on Earth.” The film’s director and writer will be on hand for the occasion.

Throughout the day on Friday, you can attend writing and publishing workshops about everything from biographies to the Native American perspective. And in the evening, Doig and Kittredge will read from their new novels.

“That will be quite an event,” Anderson says.

Saturday includes more of the same, with readings, exhibits, book appraisals, discussions and so on. Montana Public Radio will host a live performance of “A Prairie Home Companion” (already sold out), followed by a Garrison Keillor wrap party.

“If you can’t get in to see Garrison live, come by the Wilma Theater, get a glass of wine and listen to it with your friends,” Anderson advises.

The party is free and open to the public, as is most of the festival.

“Everything is free, with just a couple of exceptions,” Anderson says. “And it all takes place within a two-block area.”

You’ll find a complete schedule at www.bookfest-mt.org. Or call (406) 243-6022.

Animal lust

Avert the children’s eyes. The racy Royal BC Museum will open “Fatal Attraction” on Oct. 5.

According to the news release they sent my way, the interactive exhibit promises to reveal the “sometimes sensual, often flashy – occasionally dangerous – courtship rituals of the animal kingdom.”

It’s “interactive”? Good grief, what have we come to?

Nevertheless, Pauline Rafferty, the museum’s CEO hastens to assure you, “It’s completely G-rated. Kids love it.”

You be the judge. Here’s some of the material to which you’ll be, um, exposed:

There are the spiders that perfume their webs to attract mates, toads that whistle at other toads (presumably when they pass amphibian construction sites), predators that pretend to want a date only to off their prey, and red rock crabs that like to cuddle, among other amorous critters. It sounds quite a bit like Match.com.

The museum will bowdlerize its premises after Jan. 7, at which point one would hope it will be safe to return.

Check for yourself at www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca or call (888) 447-7977.

Regional events

•Old Faithful Fall Cycle Tour, Oct. 7, West Yellowstone, Mont. Pedal your way from West Yellowstone to Old Faithful. The 60-mile ride passes geysers and wildlife on the way to a spaghetti dinner. (www.visitmt.com; 406-646-9427)

•Graveyard of the Pacific Shipwreck Week, Oct. 21-29, Astoria, Ore. Commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Peter Iredale shipwreck with artifact and photo exhibits, underwater archeology, survivor stories, sea shanties and more. (800-875-6807)